Dad's car written off by insurer
Discussion
My dad had a prang when someone drove into the back of his car when he was at a set of traffic lights. From a blame point of view it was straightforward - the third party was to blame and their insurer has accepted liability. There was damage to the rear bumper, rear offside quarter-panel and the hatch wouldn't close fully after the accident.
The repair costs exceed 50% of the value of his car so the insurer has written off his car.
His car is a 10-year old Megane and garaged daily so it was in excellent condition. My parents are OAPs and my mum is disabled so is reliant on my dad to drive her around.
His car would be worth around £1400 at current market value. My dad is really stressed now - my parents don't have any spare cash and I help them out as much as I can financially afford to do so. I know the car wasn't anything great but it was his pride and joy and he had owned it from new.
What are the options in this situation? Or are there any but to accept the payout from the insurer? It's unlikely he'd find another 10-year old car in similar condition quickly. He's got a courtesy car for now but that will have to go back this week I imagine.
The repair costs exceed 50% of the value of his car so the insurer has written off his car.
His car is a 10-year old Megane and garaged daily so it was in excellent condition. My parents are OAPs and my mum is disabled so is reliant on my dad to drive her around.
His car would be worth around £1400 at current market value. My dad is really stressed now - my parents don't have any spare cash and I help them out as much as I can financially afford to do so. I know the car wasn't anything great but it was his pride and joy and he had owned it from new.
What are the options in this situation? Or are there any but to accept the payout from the insurer? It's unlikely he'd find another 10-year old car in similar condition quickly. He's got a courtesy car for now but that will have to go back this week I imagine.
A quick update to this topic - my dad's insurance company offered him £1900 for the write-off value. His insurer-approved workshop produced an estimate of £3200 for the repairs. He bought the car from the insurance company for £250. It's a Cat-C car now. It's been taken to a local workshop (recommended by a family member and local to my parent's house) where the repairs estimate is £1200 to £1600 (I guess there's a fair element of family goodwill in there).
My parents have a tremendous emotional attachment to their car so my dad has given the go-ahead for it to be repaired.
Apparently it'll take just over two weeks for the repairs to complete and the workshop will put it through a new MOT before handing it back to my dad.
I can understand my father wanting to keep his car. I'll be paying for any rental car until his own car is repaired and as soon as he gets it back I've promised to spend a weekend detailing it inside and out for him.
All in all, he'll probably just break even financially. But what price that emotion of seeing his beloved car back at home?
My parents have a tremendous emotional attachment to their car so my dad has given the go-ahead for it to be repaired.
Apparently it'll take just over two weeks for the repairs to complete and the workshop will put it through a new MOT before handing it back to my dad.
I can understand my father wanting to keep his car. I'll be paying for any rental car until his own car is repaired and as soon as he gets it back I've promised to spend a weekend detailing it inside and out for him.
All in all, he'll probably just break even financially. But what price that emotion of seeing his beloved car back at home?
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